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Important: VAERS reports alone cannot determine if a vaccine caused an adverse event. Reports may contain incomplete, inaccurate, or unverified information. Correlation does not equal causation.
VAERS Reporting Timeline
35 years of vaccine adverse event reporting (1990–2026). Track how reporting patterns have changed over time — from the early days of VAERS through the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.
1990
VAERS established
37
years of data
2021
peak reporting year
768K
reports in 2021
⚠️ Understanding Reporting Trends
- • More reports ≠ more danger. The 2021 spike reflects COVID-19 vaccine rollout to hundreds of millions of people, plus heightened public awareness.
- • Reporting awareness changes over time. Public health campaigns, media coverage, and legal requirements all influence filing rates.
- • The system is passive. Reports are voluntary, so trends reflect reporting behavior as much as actual adverse events.
- • Pre-2021 baseline was roughly 30,000-50,000 reports per year for all vaccines combined.